8 replies to this topic

[mathewjowens]

Morning all,

 

I'm conducting a study of thunder reports in the UK. Fireworks are often mistaken for thunder (a "false positive" in our data). Do you have any sense (or even data) of when loud, booming fireworks, such as rockets, became widespread in the UK? From personal experience, I'd have guessed around the 1980s, but that could have been quite a regional thing.

 

Thanks all, Matt.

[dave]

you've got to be joking !

 

firework shells and rockets are absolutely nothing like thunder

 

unbelievable !

[mathewjowens]

Sure, if you hear a single shell/rocket and hear it relatively well. But a distant series of explosions, often echoing round buildings or orography, is sometimes mistaken for thunder.

[Vic]

It would be difficult to achieve rolling thunder but doable , but to an untrained ear large shells over distances can sound like thunder.

Edited by Vic, 23 November 2015 - 08:47 PM.

[starseeker]

I have noticed that if the cloud cover is very low the sound seems to be contained and could be mistaken for thunder as Vic says to the untrained ear .

[mathewjowens]

Thanks all. Yes, it's been noted that the audibility of thunder depends on atmospheric conditions, so I can well imagine fireworks behaving in a similar way.

 

Any idea roughly when "loud" fireworks which could (to an untrained ear) be mistaken for thunder became widespread in the UK?

 

EDIT: I'll also look into the reporting of thunder in Nov 2014 compared with previous years, see if there's any evidence of pulse detention engines affecting the records. Nice idea, thanks.

Edited by mathewjowens, 25 November 2015 - 10:45 AM.

[Arthur Brown]

I've certainly heard thunder like noise from a distant firework display. A good finale of big shells is just like thunder if you hear it but don't see it. 

 

Shells have been available for professional use for many years, and they continue to be so. 

[mathewjowens]

Thanks all. Useful input. I'll let you know if/when the article is published, just in case it's of interest.

[martyn]

Hello Matthew?

I'm sorry none of us has actually answered your question.

I reckon you'd have more luck in getting dates / data for another firework forum, UKFR.

Some really hardcore pyro enthusiasts and lots of professional display operators over there,

Cheers

Martyn